Sister of Mine
by runningbetweentheraindrops
Summary: Regina made the choice not to cast the curse and take her revenge by taking Emma away from her parents. Show and Charming were allowed to raise Emma and had another child but their happiness was cut short on Emma's eighth birthday when she disappeared without a trace. Eighteen years later, Emma is reluctantly reunited with her younger sister.
1. Chapter 1

This is the first fanfic that I've published in almost five years, I mostly prefer to work on original stuff but this was just begging to be written. It hasn't been beta read, if you see any really horrible grammar mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them ASAP. I have the whole story tentatively mapped out in my head and I'm working on chapter two right now, let me know if its worth my time to keep going. The response to it will decide whether I should keep writing it or go back to focusing solely on original work.

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The past 

A sudden storm had blown in and delayed the Kings trip back home to his family. The storm, if did not clear up soon, would cause him to miss his eldest daughters eighth birthday and his mood had become as foul as the weather. Anyone who knew the King knew how much he valued his family, he placed them above anything else in his life and had never missed a birthday or holiday. Except apparently, till now. Lost in his own dark thoughts, he didn't see the young woman enter his tent with a tray of food, covered by a cloth. Any small noise she might have made was drowned out by the heavy sound of rain outside. She gently sent down the tray, walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. The King jumped and reached for his sword causing the woman to take a step back and put her hands up.

"Calm down David, its just me." She said with a smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eye. David's posture relaxed and he moved his hand away from his sword.

"Gods be damned Red! How many have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?!" He snapped and her gaze turned frosty at his sharp words. David deflated under her gaze. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you like that" Red walked forward and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"The storm will clear up in time for us to make it back for Emma's birthday. Even if it doesn't, she's a smart child and she will understand" David sighed heavily and nodded.

"I know, I just want to be there"

"I know, I do too but there is nothing we can do about it right now." She took the cloth off the tray she had carried in to reveal an assortment of fruit and dried meat. "and you haven't eaten all day. Snow would kill us both if she found out, so come and eat dinner with me."  
Now

Now

She was very beautiful, no one would deny that but if the people in this bar knew who she really was there would probably be no one in the bar left, let alone trying to buy her drinks. She was known throughout the enchanted forest simply as 'The Swan' and only a handful of people could claim to know her real name. She chose that name for herself many years previously, she had always been fascinated by Swans. She had been in love with them since she was a young girl, they were at the center of many myths and stories that her parents had told her as a child. They were gorgeous, elegant creatures but extremely vicious and protective. In that way they reminded her of herself, so she named herself after them.

She had started bounty hunting as a way to earn a living. Swan had never thought she would do it for as long as she had but found that she had a real talent for finding people. As her reputation grew, people began to start seeking her out to find people for them. Such was the reason she was sitting by herself sipping on her third mug of beer waiting for her mark to walk though the door. His name was Andrew, he was the youngest son of a minor lord but because of the severity of his crime, it would do nothing to protect him. He stood accused of raping and impregnating a young peasant girl who later killed herself and took the fetus inside of her with her. When the allegations came out, he disappeared like the coward he is. She was a well liked and loved girl and the villagers pooled together some coin to pay Swan to find him, alive if she could but not necessarily. Is was very small mount of coin much less then Swan would typically ask for but, if she was being completely honest with herself, she would probably would have done this one for free.

She allowed herself a small smirk as she saw him walk in like he owned the place, a laugh on his lips and not a care in the world. She was going to enjoy taking this one down.

The Past 

They made it, barely but they made it. He saw them before they saw him. The heavy rain from the day before had cleared up and Snow had taken their daughters outside to play in the garden. It was Emma's birthday and there was nothing that she loved more then being outside playing in the dirt. Something that took a couple ruined gowns before her parents figured that out. Ruth, who was three months shy of her second birthday already idolized her big sister and attempted to follow her around the garden on unsteady feet. He watched as Emma attempted and failed to show her little sister how to make a mud pie and Snow looked on with a content smile on her face.

Emma was the first one to notice him and the way her face lit up as she ran towards him yelling 'Daddy' over and over again. The sound and sight made his heart swell. He had been gone for almost two weeks growing more and more unpleasant with each passing day he was away from his family. He swept up his eldest into his arms when she reached him and swung her around as they both laughed.

"You made for my party!"

"Oh, little one, the Gods themselves couldn't keep me away from attending your party" Charming set Emma back on the ground as Snow walked over with Ruth in her arms and smiled up at her husband as the kissed.

"Ewwww" Emma cried out as she slapped her hands across her face. Snow rolled her eyes as Charming gave the young Princess an indulgent smile.

"Missed you"

"Missed you more." He was back with his family and all was right with the world again.

Now 

He tried to put up a fight and his foolishness cost him his life. He was no different then most of the men that Swan had to deal with. Cocky, arrogant and he under estimated her. She always gives them a chance but they always choose to try to fight her because she is young and blond and a women. Swan had yet to meet one man who could match her fighting prowess. She sighed as she finished trying his body to the back of her horse. She hated killing another human being, no matter how horrible their crimes. She hated the way it made her feel and she hated the nightmares that always accompanied the deed, sometimes for weeks at a time. It made her feel like an animal, like less then a person. Yet this was the life she chose to lead and she wondered, not for the first time what time, what kind of person that made her.

Swan was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of fighting and the screams of a young women. Swan hesitated but when she heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a girls cry of pain, she grabbed her sword and ran in the direction of the sound. What she saw made her blood go cold with fury. There were three men and one young girl with blond hair only a couple shades darker then Swan's. The girls dress was ready ripped and hanging off one her shoulders while one of them men held her tightly against him while the other two leered at her. Swan didn't hesitate, she slipped a dagger out of her sleeve and threw it with deadly accuracy, hitting the man who was holding the girl right between the eyes. The other two froze as their friend fell to the ground and turned toward Swan.

"Okay boys, lets not do anything dumb. I'll just take the girl and-oh what the hell! Seriously!" One of them men decided to charge at her with a club and Swan effortlessly disarmed and slashed his across his stomach. He fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath him. She turned to the last remaining man. "You going to try something too? Because I wouldn't recommend it." She had never seen a person run so fast before.

At some point during the fight, the girl had allowed herself to fall to the ground and was curled into a tight little ball. Swan walked over, knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, its okay. They're gone. They can't hurt you anymore." The girl peaked her head out and Swan was taken over by a sudden jolt of familiarity.

"Did you kill them"

"Two of them, the other one ran off. He's probably already telling stories about how his friends were killed by twenty armed men and how he barely made it out alive." Swan looked up horizon and then back down at the girl. "Can you walk? Its going to be dark in another couple hours and we shouldn't stay here. I can take you back to your home if you like?"

"I don't live around here, I was just passing through"

"Well, you can travel with me for a couple days if you like, I have business at a village just north of here. I can take you as far as there" Swan had no idea what was compelling her to make this offer. She didn't even make the choice consciously, the words simply came out of her mouth unbidden. She hated traveling companions. She was loner by nature and they always slowed her down. The girl studied her underneath long dark lashes then finally nodded, so Swan helped her to her feet.

The Past 

The party was over. However the true test of parenthood was just beginning.

"But I'm not tired!" Emma wailed as her Father tried to coax her into her bed.

"I know kid but why don't you lay down and if you're still awake in an hour you can get out of bed"

"One hour?"

"One hour"

"Okay" Emma paused and turned her bright green eyes up at her father "Can I say goodnight to Ruth? I didn't get to say goodnight before Uncle Grumpy took her to bed" "She's already sleeping Emma, you'll see your sister in the morning. If you go see her now, you will just wake her up." Any objection that Emma may have raised was interrupted by a large yawn and Charming smiled down at her in amusement. He picked her up and swung her into her bed, causing Emma to start giggling. He tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight little one"

"Goodnight Daddy. I love you"

"I love you too" He blew out the candles and gently closed her door. That when he heard it, a muffled wail coming from his youngest daughters room. He sighed and shook his head with an amused smile and started towards Ruth's nursery. The smile fell from his face when he saw the flickering light under the door. The Blue Fairy had given them a light glob when Emma had been born as a gift and when Ruth had been born, Emma allowed them to use it for her. Is was meant for young children so they didn't have to sleep in complete darkness. Candles were too dangerous to leave burning all night in the same room as an infant. Light globs however did not flicker, only candle light did that and Grumpy knew better to leave any burning while Ruth was sleeping. His every instant was telling him something was wrong, so he gently pushed open the door and peaked in. What he saw made his blood run cold. Grumpy was laying on the floor a deep gash visible on his forehead and Ruth was standing up in her crib, wailing her eyes out.

Charming didn't hesitate after that, he ran into the room and over to Grumpy and checked if he was breathing. He was, thank the Gods. Snow appeared at the doorway, her eyes wild. She bolted over to the crib, picked up Ruth and held her close while whispering assurances in her daughters ear despite the fact that she herself was close to tears.

Before any questions could be asked, screaming could be heard from down the hall. It was Emma and they could hear her yelling "no" repeatedly. Charming didn't even spare his wife and daughter another look, he bolted out of the nursery and down the hall to Emma's room. The yelling stopped right before he pushed open the door and it opened to show an empty room. Emma was gone.

Now 

"Is that a dead body?" Swan looked at her temporary traveling partner in amusement.

"We've been traveling together for three hours and you're just asking me this now?" The young girl turned red and began to talk really fast.

"I just realized that I don't know anything about you, I don't even know your name and you came out of no where and offered to take me to the another village and I don't even know why I agreed because I don't know you and you killed those men back there and you might be transporting a dead body and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down kid. I'm a bounty hunter and this one put up a fight, tried to kill me. I have to bring the body to the people who hired me in order to receive my payment. I killed those men back there to stop them from raping you and my name is Swan. I give you my word that I don't intend you any harm."

"But why did you bother saving me? It had nothing to do with you. Why did you invite me to come with you? You could have just left me there." The girl cocked her head to the side and gave Swan a puzzled look. "And what kind of name is Swan?" Swan rolled her eye when the last question came out of her mouth.

"You sure like to ask allot of questions don't you?" Swan sighed and turn her attention away from the fire she was trying to build and focused her attention completely on the young girl. "I saved you because what those men where about to do is probably the worst thing you can do to another person. I invited you to come with me because it didn't seem right to just leave you there. Swan is a name and its mine. Now, I have a question of my own: what is a pampered noble doing hanging around a pub on the outskirts of a poor fishing village?" The girls eyes widened in fear and started to dart around as if to look for an escape. "Don't run kid, even if you managed to get away, you don't know where you are and you wouldn't survive the night. Don't try to deny it you're nobility, your hands gave you away. They're much too soft and clean, if you were just another peasant girl, they would be calloused and chapped." Swan continued to stare at her as she looked everywhere but at the women across from her. Finally her eyes settled on a spot in the dirt.

"My parents were talking about arranging a marriage for me, so I ran away." Her voice had taken on meek quivering tone as if she was about to cry. Something like this would usually annoy Swan, she hated crying but instead she felt something rise up inside of her. A fierce urge to protect this young girl, to wrap her up and hide her away from the dangers of the world. Swan mentally shook off the feeling and turned back to the fire.

"Don't worry, I won't return you to your parents if you don't wan to go back. However if we're going to be traveling together, I should know who you are" The girl was silent for almost five minutes and Swan did not attempt to push her.

"Ruth" she finally said and Swan felt her heart skip a beat at that one word. There was no way, it wasn't possible "My name is Ruth" and all the pieces fell into place. After years of running, Swan's past had finally caught up to her because the young girl sitting across from her was her baby sister.


	2. Chapter 2

Like the first chapter, this had not been beta read and if you see any really bad mistakes, let me know.

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The past

What Rumpelstiltskin had told her left her feeling deeply conflicted. She had to sacrifice the heart of the one she loved the most, she had to rip the heart out of her own Father. Upon arriving, she was relived that Henry was no where in sight. She needed time to think and was not sure she would be able handle seeing him right now. Her relief turned to terror when she saw who was waiting for her. Silhouetted by the fire, and dressed in those awful ivory robes she insisted on wearing, her long ivory hair fell down her back, done into a simple braid and was streaked with more gray then Regina remembered. The woman slowly turned towards Regina and smiled sadly.

"Hello Regina, we need to talk" Morgen Le Fay, the only Sorceress that Rumpelstiltskin and by extension Regina, ever feared. "There is no need to be afraid" Morgan said noticing how tense Regina was at her presence "I give you my word, I'm not here to do you harm. I simply want to talk" Regina's first instinct was to demand that Morgan leave her but she knew better. Morgan would not leave until she wanted to and would not take kindly to Regina making demands of her.

"What is it you wish to talk about?"

"This little curse that my Father has manipulated you into casting. I'm here to ask that you reconsider." Regina didn't respond right away as she tried to figure out how handle such a request. Finally, instead of agreeing or disagreeing with Morgans request, Regina asked why she cared. "Other the obviousness of not wanting my memories striped and forced to live in a land with no magic? Rumplestilskin wants this curse cast, which is enough for me not to want it cast. Anytime I'm able to stop him from causing others pain, I'm a happy woman." The smile fell from Morgans face after that and her face took on a sorrowful look "I told you once, a long time ago, that that path you're on would only bring you pain. You could cast the curse but the act of taking your Fathers heart will destroy yours. It will leave a hole inside of you that, no matter how much you try, you will never be able to fill and you will lose. Evil may produce the results faster but good is patient and will wait many years for its victory. You may cast the curse and for a time you may feel like you have won but eventually the curse will break and you will be left with nothing."

"I can't do nothing! What Snow did, what she took from me! How can I just let her get away with that?!" Morgan looked at Regina with pity in her gaze. Morgan wanted to admonish her, tell her that she was putting blame where there was none but she knew that would do no good. It would only make Regina more determined to cast the curse, if from spite if nothing else. She knew how Regina worked, in many ways Regina was younger version of herself and so Morgan knew how to handle her. She had to divert Regina's attention away from the curse to something else, she sent up a silent prayer for forgiveness and presented her idea.

"You try something new: its called patience. Let Snow and her husband believe they have won, let them have their happiness for a time and then take it from them."

"And how would suggest I do that?" Morgan shrugged and looked away from Regina.

"Isn't Queen Snow about to have a child? It would devastating if after have the chance to be a family, a chance to be happy, that something tragic were to happen to her child. Wouldn't you agree?"

Now

Swan had not spoken to her since last night after Ruth had told divulged her name. While before, Swan had displayed what Ruth would call inpatient tolerance towards her. Now her demeanor was down right icy and she acted as if she could not wait to get rid of Ruth. She was not sure why, after all she had just meant this woman not twenty-four hours previously but for some reason, Swan's cold demeanor hurt Ruth. She wanted Swan to like her but had no clue why it mattered to her to much.

"We will arrive at the village soon, there is an inn there. I will leave you there." Swan spoke with clipped words and short tones. She did not even bother to look at Ruth as she spoke. Ruth stopped Swan from walking away by gently placing her hand on Swan's arm. Swan turned to her, her eyes flashing with rage but Ruth was determined to stand her ground.

"Did I do something to offend you?" Swan's look of anger turned to puzzlement and Ruth rushed to clarify her question. "Its just that, yesterday we were fine and now I can't help but feel you are upset with me." Swan's face was flooded with guilt at her words.

"No, no, no. Its just-you see, the think is-" Swan broke off gathered her thoughts and began to speak again. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way, I'm sorry. You have done nothing wrong. You just remind me of someone, someone I knew a very long time ago."

"I'm sorry if I stir up bad memories for you" Swan reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Not bad memories, good ones, the very best I have. You remind me of that time and-"

"It makes you sad, I get it"

"I am sorry, it was wrong to take it out on you." Swan looked up at the sky and back at Ruth "You know, we can use a rest and I'm hungry. You like rabbit? These woods are filled with them." Ruth smiled and nodded, "Great, I'll be back in about an hour" Swan grabbed her bow and quiver and took off into the woods.

Ruth waited about five minutes before going over to Swan's horse and began to go though the contents of her saddle bags, carefully avoiding looking at the dead body strapped to the back. There was something off about Swan, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on and she needed to figure it out. After a few minutes of searching, Ruth pulled a locket from the saddle bag. She opened it and her eyebrows scrunched together at what she saw, on the left was a small picture of her Mother and the right was her Father. What the hell was a bounty hunter like Swan doing with pictures of her Ruth's parents?

The Past

The curse never happened. After Morgan left, Regina spent hours thinking about the things she had said and eventually came to conclusion that casting the curse was not the right course of action. The idea of killing her own Father filled her with self loathing and she was disgusted that she had even considered the idea. She took Morgan's advice of patience and waited. Using her mirrors, she watched as the Kingdom celebrated the birth of the Princess Emma. She watched as Snow and her husband lived out their happiness. She watched as they celebrated anniversaries and birthdays. She watched as Snow gave birth to another daughter six years after the first. She watched as they began to relax and settle into the false sense of security that they had built up around them.

As she watched them, she noticed something about the Princess Emma that no one else seemed to notice. Emma had magic. Many people assumed that magic was something that anyone could lean but that was only partly true. A person with no magically ability could learn how to brew potions or maybe work enough magic to do small parlor tricks. Sometimes a spell or a curse granted people powers that they did not have before. For the most part however, a person was simply born with the innate ability. Regina was one of those people, so was her mother and apparently, so was Emma.

Regina noticed it in the small things, the way a bird with a broken wing was suddenly able to fly after Emma handled it. 'Must have only been stunned' they reasoned away. She noticed it in the way the weather suddenly turned foul whenever Emma was in a bad mood and no one but Regina seemed to make the connection between the two. Regina's plan had originally been to sneak into Emma's room in the middle of the night and quietly end the young Princesses life but this unexpected development caused her to change her plans yet again. She realized that she could use Emma against her parents, she was still young and therefore still impressionable. It would not take much to turn Emma against her parents, to train her and make her hate them as much as Regina did. It had been almost nine years since Regina had made the promise to destroy Snow's happiness and now she was finally to follow through on that promise.

She planned it meticulously, it had to be done in such a way that they would be left with no answers, no idea what happened to their precious daughter. She created a distraction using their younger daughter by materializing in her nursery just as the dwarf put her into the crib. He was unconscious before he knew what hit him and the infant played her part exactly as Regina had hopped. The wailing that the child was producing would have everyone focused on the younger Princess long enough for Regina to get away with Emma.

As soon as Regina heard footsteps onside the door, she teleported herself into Emma's room. The Princess had yet to fall asleep and sat up with her eyes full of terror at Regina's sudden appearance.

"Don't worry child, I mean you no harm. I'm here to help you." Emma didn't say anything just kept staring at her with wide eyes. "I know this may be hard for you to understand but you're in danger here. We have to leave. Quickly." Regina reached out as if to grab the younger girl but Emma jumped off the bed before she could and ran to the other side of the room. "Please Princess, we don't have time for this. I know this is scary but I mean you no harm."

"Don't lie to me! I can tell when people are lying! What do you want?!"

"To help you"

"LIAR!" Emma began to scream in such a way that would have had the entire palace on their heads in a matter of seconds. Regina darted forward as fast as she could and grabbed Emma who had started to scream 'no' repeatedly and tried to squirm away but it was no use. They vanished in a cloud of purple smoke and Charming burst though the door only to find an empty room.

Now

The distance traveled usually only took Swan a day and a half but this time it had taken her almost three. Having a travel companion had slowed her down even more then she had thought it would. This was just one more on the growing list of reasons to get rid of Ruth as quickly as she could. A very small part of her whispered that she should keep Ruth around but she stomped it down as best she could. While she had many reasons for wanting to leave Ruth at the next village, paramount among them was that the life Swan led was a dangerous one. She had allot of enemies and allot of people out there who might be looking for revenge for slights both real and imagined. Not to mention that Swan hunted down dangerous criminals for a living. She was a danger to Ruth, she knew that and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if anything happened to her little sister. That was a whole other problem: she couldn't keep Ruth with her because eventually Ruth would put the pieces together and figure out who Swan is and if Ruth found out, it would only be a matter of time before their parents found out and they would learn of what became of their oldest. They would learn of all the horrible things she had done, all the people she had hurt. No, it was better that they kept believing that she was dead. Better that they held on to the memories of that little girl who liked to play in the dirt, it was her hope that they will never know about the woman that that Princess Emma had become and one of her greatest fears that one day they would. With those thoughts in mind, Swan hardened her heart as they entered the village.

"Its midday, is it supposed to be this quite?" Ruth asked a valid question, something was very wrong. At this time of day, there should be people milling about every where. Working, bartering, socializing but there was no one. Not even the animals were making any noise. Swan unsheathed her sword, held in front of her and reached down to her boot, pulled out a six inch dagger and handed it to Ruth.

"Somethings not right, whatever you do, stay behind me." Ruth took the dagger and nodded once. Swan tied her horse to a post and the two of them walked further into the village. When they rounded the corner, what they saw practically made Emma's heart stop, Ruth gasped and dropped the dagger that Swan had given her. There were bodies everywhere, it looked as if the entire village had just up and died without warning. Glancing behind her at Ruth, she saw a women who looked like she was the verge of hysterics but Swan had no time to console her. "Pick up the dagger Ruth. Whoever did this might still be around." But Ruth didn't appear to hear her.

"All-all these p-p-people-how-how-" Swan rounded on Ruth, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"We can have good cry over this later but for know-" Swan grabbed the dagger off the ground and pressed it into Ruth's hand "-be alert or we might end up joining them" Without waiting for response, Swan turned back around and walked toward the bodies. After a moment she heard Ruth walking behind her. When they reached the bodies, Swan sheathed her sword, rolled one over onto its back and began to check for any indication to what killed him.

"Is there-is there any wounds" Ruth's voice trembled but she seemed determined to hold herself together.

"No, its as if he just dropped dead for no reason." Swan stood up and began to roll up her sleeve. When she was finished, she squatted back down and plunged her hand into the dead man's chest. Ruth gasped and took a step back at the unexpected act. Swan's face paled and she quickly stood up, grabbed Ruth and began to pull her in the direction where she left her horse. "We have to get out of here. Now."

"Whats going on?!"

"I'll explain later but right now we have to leave!"

"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere" Said an amused third voice. Ruth let out a small scream and Swan pushed Ruth behind her, grabbed her sword and held it out in front of her.

Past

Regina appeared in the middle of the woods with a struggling Emma. It wasn't supposed to be this difficult. She was supposed to persuade Emma to come with her without a fight but instead Emma had proven to be more shrewd and insightful then Regina had given her credit for. Maybe she would have come reluctantly but she still would have willing come with Regina. She set down Emma as gently as she could while keeping a tight grip on the girls wrist.

"Emma-Emma- sweetheart- listen to me! Please!"

"No!" Emma screamed as loud as her young lungs could handle and contained to try to get away. Regina swung her hand back and slapped Emma. Emma stopped fighting and looked up at Regina, shock filling her small face.

"I'm sorry child but you must listen to me. You have magic and I took you away from there to protect you. Your parents hate magic users and might have done something to hurt you if I had left you there. I've seen them do horrible things to humans found practicing magic." Emma didn't say anything, just sniffled and looked up at Regina with her hand pressed to the side of her face. Regina sighed, this was not going at all the way she had hoped, maybe some time alone would be good for Emma. Regina reached out and pulled Emma's hand away from the rapidly forming bruise on the side of her face and laid her own hand across it. Emma felt a warm tingling sensation and the pain faded away.

"I have to leave you here for now, your parents will suspect me and may come after me. I need to keep you safe and right now this is the safest place for you. This is the Infinite Forest, everything you need to survive can be found within these woods." Regina broke contact with Emma and took a couple steps back. "I won't be able to come see you but I'll watching" and with those words Regina disappeared, leaving eight year old Emma alone in the woods.

It would a year before Emma saw her again.


End file.
